Continuous-heating furnace



Feb, 1?, 1931 F. J. WINDER CONTINUOUS HEATINGv FURNACE Filed March 1, 192a INVENTOR M aZum L Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK J. WIND'ER, OF BRACKENRIDGE, PENNSYLVANIA, A SSIGNOR TO ALLEGHENY STEEL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANI CONTINUOUS-HEATING FURNACE Application filedlllarch 1, 1928. Serial No. 258,253.

This invention relates to an improvement in furnaces and more particularly to a con tinuous heating furnace.

An object of this invention is to provide a furnace for heating sheet bars, slabs, billets and the like in a continuous manner and which will be especially adapted for heating slabs, billets, squares, rounds, etc., composed of metals requiring slowheating.

Another object of this invention is to provide a continuous heating furnace having a movable hearth for receiving the material to be treated and for conveying such material from one position to another in the furnace.

Another object of this invention'is to pro vide a heating furnace having the above characteristics, means associated with the said furnace for removing the heated material therefrom and means associated with the movable hearth for raising, lowering and rotating the said hearth within the furnace.

Other objects will be made apparent throughout the further description of the furnace illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in the appended claims. 7

In the single sheet of drawings, Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a furnace constructed in accordance with the invention having the top or roof removed and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through'the center of Fig. 1 having the top or roof in place.

The invention comprises in general a vertical furnace 11 cylindrical in shape having a removable top or roof 12 a movable grate 13, a plurality of sets of supports 14 an d 15 vertically spaced apart, means 16 for raising and lowering the grate within the furnace, means 17 for rotating the furnace within the grate and a means 18 for forcing the treated material out of the furnace.

The furnace 11 may be constructed of any suitable refractory material such as'fire brick and preferably lined with a refractory alloy 19 for preventing particles of the fire brick or the like from chipping off, due to expansion and contraction and falling in contact with the material being treated.

The grate 13 may be also constructed of any suitable refractory material such as fire brick and is also preferably lined with the refractory alloy 19, which lining greatly increases the life thereof. A suitable seal 21, such as sand, is provided around the bottom of the hearth for sealing the hearth with the furnace. A slot oropening'22 is provided through the hearth adjacent one of its ends,

the said opening 22 adapted to registerwith a chute 23 for permitting the material treated to pass out of the furnace. The grate is also provided with a suitable stopl24 extending upwardly adjacent the opening 22 for guidmg thematerial into the slot and out the chute 23. Through the opposite side of the furnace from the chute 23, I provide a threaded means 18 for forcing the material along the grate 13 into contact with the stop 24 and out the opening 22. i

The means 16 for raising andjlowering the grate 13within the furnace comprises a water cylinder25 having a piston 26 disposed there- 1n. The piston 26 is provided with a piston rod 27 extending upwardly and into engagement with the grate 13 and supporting the grate 13 in relative position with the piston 26. Any suitable meanssuchas shown at 28 may be employed for connecting the piston rod 27 to the bottom of the grate 13. The piston rod 27 is also provided with a square or hexagonal portion 29the purpose of which will hereinafter be described.

The furnace in general is supported by suit able pillars 31 disposed'on a steel base 32 which is in turn supported by a concrete foundation 33. The hydraulic means 16 is conveniently disposed below the steel base 32 and within the concrete foundation 33.

The means 17 for rotating the grate 13 Within the furnace comprises a motor 34 connected to the piston rod 27 by means of a suitable pinion 35 and gear 36. The gear 36 is provided with a square or hexagonal opening for receiving the square or hexagonal portion 29 of the piston rod 27. The gear 36 is turnably' disposed upon the steel base 32 in any suitable manner such as shown at 37. The means 37 comprises correspond- I .ing grooves in the gear 36 and base. 32 having suitable rollers associated therein.

with a steel cover 38 for protecting the gear and pinion from dirt, moisture and the like and also for preventing the gear 36 from moving in an upward position.

It can be seen from the drawings, that as the piston 26 moves upward, the piston rod 27 is permitted to slide within the hexagonal opening in the gear 36 and by operating the motor 34 and turning the pinion 35 and gear 36, the piston rod 27will rotate or turn with the gear.

In practicing the invention, the top 12 is removed from the furnace 11 by any suitable means such as a crane and the grate 13 is raised within the furnace to the top thereof, at which time the material to, be treated is superimposed upon the grate, each layer of the material being disposed at right angles to each adjacent layer, the widths of each layer of material in each case bein less than the distance between the oppositely disposed supports 14 and 15, the length of such layers being greater than the distancebetween either of the said oppositely disposed supports 14 and 15. i

In superimposing the material upon the grate, the grate may be lowered any d sirable distance before superimposing the next layer and rotated if desired.

' The furnace may be heated by any suitable means such as gas burners 50, or the furnace may be constructed for using such fuel as coal, oil, or the like.

It will be obvious from the above that the grate may be raised and lowered or rotated clockwise or counterclockwise any desirable number of times and any predetermined amount during the placing of the material to be treated within the furnace. In the drawings 41, 42, 43. and 44 represent plurality of layers or material tofbe treated, each layer being disposed at right angles to each adjacent layer. Since the supports 15, only permit one" layer to pass there-beneath in view of the manner in which the material is stacked, the single layer 44 may be brought belowthe supports 15 and turned torest upon the supports 14. T his provides space below, above and around the entire. layer 44 for the c rculation of the heating gases and subjects the layer 44, which is. the first layer to be removed from the furnace to the proper temperatures, while the layers 41, 42'and 43 are undergoing a preliminary or pr-e-heating stage, the desirability of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

After the layer 44 hasbeen subjected to the desired temperatures, the grate 13 is raised by the means 16 into contact with the layer 44. removing it from the supports 14 and rotating it 90 by the means 17 and lowered into the position, as shown at 440, at which time the layers 44a may be forced out of" the openings 22 and the chute 2?) and into a suitable receptacle, not shown.

Obviously the roof of the furnace may be removed and an additional layer placed therein after the hnvcrmost la yer has been removed from the furnace.

Briefly, one system of operation is as follows: The top 12 of the vertical chamber is rmoved, the hearth 13 is raised by means of its piston to the opening produced thereby, and cross stacked material to be treated is piled from this top through the opening upon the hearth 13. The piston. of the hearth 13 is again operated, this time to lower the pile of material to be treated within the furnace chamber so, a s to, allow placing of the material on a suitable support. The material is left on the supports until any desired heating has been accomplished, then the hearth lifts the entire pile of material, removes the lowest la yer thereof. and places the subsequent layer on the supports. New material can. be placed on this pile through the opening at the top of the furnace chamber as the lowermost layer is being removed.

In this furnace a continuous heating process can be. accomplished. Material to be treated enters the top, slowly progresses downwardly as a layer of a pile of cross stacked material and finally, when a desired heating has been accomplished, is removed from the furnace. Simultaneously, with this removal, a new layer whose heating is to begin, may be introduced as the topmost layer of the pile of material being treated.

While I have illustrated and described but one embodiment of this invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain changes, modifications, substitutions, additions, and omissions may be made in the structure and themethod of operating the same without departin from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to. secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a continuous heating furnace, a vertically disposed heating chamber, an imperforate removable top for said chamber 'so that material may enter therethrough, means for supporting 1r terial being treated in said chamber, means extending upwardly through the. bottom of said chamber for receiving material from the top portion of said chamber and being movable, for placing said material on said supporting means, and for removing a layer of said material from. said supporting means when a desired heat treatmentther eof has been accomplished.

2. In comliiination with a continuous heat ing furnace, a vertically disposed closed heating chamber, an innuarforatc removable top for said chamber sothat material may enter therethrough, means for supporting niaterial being treated in said chamber, means extending upwardly through the bottom of said chamber for receiving material from the top tin;

portion of said chamber and being movable vertically and rotatably, for placing said material on said supporting means, for removing a layer of said material from said sup porting means when a desired heat treatment thereof has been accomplished, for subsequently supporting said removed layer of hot material until taken from said furnace chamber and means for laterally removing the said layer.

3. In combination with a continuous heating furnace, a vertically disposed closed refractory heating chamber, an imperforate removable top for said chamber so that hori- 15 zontal layers of edgewise disposed material may enter said chamber therethrough, means for supporting material being treated in said chamber, means extending upwardly through I the bottom of said chamber for receiving materia-l from the top portion thereof, for placing said material on said supporting means, for removing successively, at angles of 90" apart, each lowermost layer of said material from said supporting means when a desired heat treatment thereof has been accomplished, forsubsequently supporting said removed layer of hot material until taken from said furnace chamber, and means extending through the wall of said chamber engaging one side ofsaid layer and operating from the outside of said furnace to move said material edgeWise for causing sheets at the opposite side of the same to fall vertically through a slotted discharge device.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of February,

FRANK J. WINDER. 

